When God Hides His Face

We are living in times where the future is very uncertain.  No one knows how 'normal' life will ever be again.  Uncertainty, isolation, separation from loved ones, loss of freedom , financial turmoil, etc have a tole on people's state of mind.  In a time like this it is easy to become anxious or depressed ......  and even to wonder where God is. 

What is it about the fear of being abandoned that has such strong motivating power in God’s creatures? 

In God's creation every detail was declared 'GOOD', because everything He created has in it some aspect of His character, or it teaches us how to live in relationship with Him, how we are to see ourselves or how we are to live this earthly life. 

God's creation is the movie of God's book ... the words becoming pictures.   And a picture is worth 10,000 words because it doesn't need pages and books to explain it, the picture not only communicates its messages clearly but it is also easy to store in our memories. (see Rom 1:20)

I want to share some of my thoughts on the subject of ,,,, 

When God Hides His Face.

  I watch amused  when I see a mother trying to coax a toddler away from some fascinating object or play .. to no avail … until she walks away calling “Bye-bye! I’m going !” and suddenly the fascination evaporates and the toddler hurries after his mother.  

We all smile when we see the little ducks waddling after their mother,  or chicks hiding under their mother's feathers.  Why do we smile?  Because we  understand their feeling of safety when their mother is near.  

So why is this such a strong emotion in both animal and human creatures?

The answer is because God wants us close to Him!  

and if we don't 'see Him' , He wants us to follow the example of His creatures, who are oft wiser than we are ! 

I had a angora goat for a pet who was every bit as stubborn as goats are reputed to be. She had a propensity to eat exactly the things she wasn’t supposed to. If I scolded her or tried to distract her I would either be simply ignored or bucked out of her way. But if I hid myself,  suddenly I would hear her bleating cry and her feet hurrying to find me.

One more example -- The shearwater is a very fascinating bird.
The chick hatches from an egg laid deep in an underground tunnel. After two months of brooding by its parents it hatches with a ferrous appetite. It takes both parents regularly bringing food back to the tunnel where the chick simply sits and lives for the return of its parents and the food they bring!
Then when the chick is almost ready to leave its cozy home the parents abandon the chick. It waits but no parents or food appear. The chick loses weight – excess weight that it had gained to sustain it during this time of abandonment leaving it just the right weight to be able to fly!
Finally , after days pass,  the chick becomes desperate enough to move to the entrance of its tunnel and then on a dark night it dares to leave its nest and somehow follows in the footsteps of its parents leading  to the ‘taking off’ place.
Exhausted from its journey, it stops at the edge of the cliff.  Now what?
The smell of the ocean is a strong lure…triggering the instinct to let go and spread its wings. The chick is chick no longer but soars above the ocean joining the adult flock of shearwater flying effortlessly above the waves.

I found 15 places in scripture that talk about God hiding His face. (Deut. 31:17, Deut 31:8, Deut 32:20, Ps 13:1, 27:9,30:7, 51:9 , 69:17, 102:2, 143:7, Exek. 39:29, Ezek. 39:23, Micah 3:4, Ex. 30:7, Isa. 54:8)
There are several reasons why God hides His face and what He wants our response to be and maybe my examples can help us to understand them.

The fear of God abandoning us is echoed by King David who cries out for God not to hide His face from him.  One reference is in Psalm 143:7,
 “Answer me speedily, O Lord,  my spirit fails !! Do not hide Your face from me.”

How do we know God is hiding His face toward us ?
It may be  when we feel 'alone' .. we do not sense Him with us ...  our doubt seems bigger than our faith ...  we wonder if God is even paying any attention to us ...  we feel discouraged and abandoned. 

 Reasons Why God Hides His Face

1. God Hides His face because of sin 
In Habakkuk 1:13 we read .. "You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness."  
God cannot look upon sin and hides His face.   Jesus on the cross, took upon Himself your sin and mine, and God turned His face away unable to look upon it. Jesus felt the same fear we feel when we feel God 'far away' . 
 When we are sinning - doing something we know is displeasing to God - we feel God move away , hide His face from us.  
And we judge Him in light of our human experience - punishment for those who do wrong.  
But is that God's reason for hiding His face?   He is ready to bring punishment upon us ?   Or... is He simply moving out of our sight to trigger that panic button that will send us flying after Him with repentance in our hearts, seeking forgiveness and restoration.  
I think of that verse in Matt. 23:37  where Jesus speaks these agonized words .. ."....I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." 
God's heart is always toward motivating us to return to Him, to be forgiven, to turn from the sin that destroys us. In hiding His face, he is purposely creating a fear-shaped vacuum, to make us feel a sudden recognition that something is wrong -  just as we saw in each of my 'creature' examples. 

2. God Hides His Face Because We are not Listening 
Do we not all , as self-centered children want to do our own thing but at the same time want God to sit and watch .. blessing what we are doing?
God speaks to us but we are not listening …..just as my goat was deaf to my warning,  until He hides His face. As he says as in Micah 3:4 “Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings. “
The people had disobeyed … had behaved badly … but did not feel any remorse,  so He said He would turn His face away…. Making them cry out to Him!
A child is quite content as long as his mother is in view….but when he is aware that she is gone then he cries out !!
Why then does God say that He will not respond to their cries (above scripture)  but will keep His face hidden from them?
A child’s first reaction to realizing his mother is gone is to simply cry out because he is suddenly afraid, but if his mother walks back into the room at his first cry , he will just continue to do what he was doing.
In the same way the first reaction of man is to cry out simply because maybe things are going so good anymore!! “you hide your face, and they are troubled” (Psalm 104:29) But if they do not acknowledge WHY God turned His face away, then if He turns His fact to them again, they will just continue to do what they were doing.
God does not immediately answer man’s cry allowing him time to contemplate what he has done… to recognize his sin and cry out in repentance ready to listen to what God has to say, as David asked the right questions in Psalm 88:14 “Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?”
Is it only what we would call gross sin, that makes God hide His face?
Maybe not !
Could it not be that oft it is like the child not listening to his mother's instruction, or my goat in wanting to eat what it shouldn't.   God knows exactly where we 'begin' to take a step off the narrow way, and He wants to prevent us from being hurt.  So even before we are aware of anything .... maybe not even intentionally 'not listening' , He turns His face away so we will quickly recognize that we haven't been paying attention !

3. God Hides His Face to Make us Move 
How we love our comfort zones !   When everything is going well, it takes a lot to make us 'move'.
And we especially resist moving when we can't see where we are going.
And yet, how often in our faith journey, God wants us to 'move' because we trust His instruction to do so.  Like Abraham, whose faith so pleased God because he was obedient to God's voice telling him to leave his home and go where God would show him.

There are a couple of really neat application pictures in my shearwater story.
Those chicks were fat and comfortable. They could not have moved even IF they had tried.  They were too fat, too well fed.
And yet, was that not in the plan?   Why did the parent birds feed them so well until they were too fat to move?   Because the parents knew that the time was coming when except for this 'extra provision' they would not survive.
When the 'hard times' came, when the parents were gone, the extra fat was just the right amount to sustain them until they were desperate enough to 'move'.   And that was the whole purpose of the parents birds 'hiding their faces'.   They were not abandoning their chicks, they were motivating them to do what they were created to do. 
So with us too. We think life is great, everything is wonderful and THEN .. disaster strikes and we cray out "Why God??  Where are you ?"    We don't stop to consider that our time of affluence and comfort was given us 'for such a time as this' - to sustain us through a time of difficulty.  And the purpose of the 'difficulty' was to take us to where God wanted us to be.  In a closer relationship with Him, and to fulfill our God-given purpose.
  How often have you hear someone say … “And just when I thought everything was going sooo good !! everything fell apart!” Did they stop to consider that perhaps the blessings had been sent by God to prepare them for what was to come? To 'fatten' them up so that they would have the strength and resources to pass the coming test?

It is amazing to note that when the chick was finally desperate enough to move, it 'followed the footsteps its parents had left'.  How did it know?  how did it follow footsteps in the dark ?  Isn't that a perfect picture?  We oft feel like we are following God in the dark, yet He says that His word "is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. light on our path. " Psalm 119:105.  When do we need a light ?  Only in the dark, right ? 

 Look again at my life examples. In every one of them the purpose of the ‘face being hid’ was to stir up the child, the goat , the bird… to MOVE !! They needed to leave their ‘comfort zone’ .
Is that not often where we get stuck ? We like where we are and we don’t want to move? We love our comfort zone and prefer to stay there.
God’s still small voice is often not enough to move us - away from a habit, out of a situation, out of a relationship, into a ministry , from one level of maturity to the next. And so God hides His face ....  letting things get uncomfortable... not to punish, not to harm , but to bring safely under His wings.

4. God Hides His Face to Test Us 
I recently had a conversation with a friend whose prayers had not been answered as she wanted, and she blamed God and concluded He didn't care enough to answer her cry.
When God hides His face, our ensuing panic causes us to doubt. Questions fill our mind, everything from "Is God even real?"  to "Does God even care?"   Yet,  God turns His face away sometimes just to strengthen us to trust Him even when we don't 'see' Him.
I remember how it warmed my heart when I would hide from my goat.. and then hear her bleats calling out to me as she looked for me !  Nothing pleases God like our trust in Him, and that trust only grows as it is tested.
Will we trust Him even when we don't see Him? 
Learn to trust  that we will soar in His presence again ?  Even as the shearwater chick, exercised by hardship and courage, was once again reunited with its parents ,  so we, with the strength of tested faith walk knowing that God's face is ever turned to our good ..
David found this place with God ..  as he said ... "I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken."  (Ps. 18:8, Acts 2:25) 
May not pestilence, or doubt, or temptation or any thing turn us away from seeking the face of God - may we stand strong, unmovable in our trust in God !   

5. God Hides His Face - Judgment is Coming 
There is also in scripture the warning that if people harden their hearts in rebellion against God, He will set His face against them in judgement as in 
 Lev. 20:6,”I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.”

Rather than God taking pleasure in judgment, is He  not even here  extending one last effort to stop man from eternal destruction ?    We see Jonah sent out to an incredibly grossly wicked nation. His message is "You will be destroyed, in 40 days!"  Yet we know that the pronouncement of that dire judgement moved the people's hearts to cry out to God.  And we know in His mercy He  immediately turned His face back to them and forgave them. 
And in Isaish 54:8, God says .. "with a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer."
Over and over again we see in the Bible stories how God allowed hardship and disaster to bring His people into a horrible place but then when they cried out to Him, He quickly came and saved them and put them again into a place of blessing . 
 Even when God proclaims that destruction is coming,  is it  that God is turning His face away  not  because He is determined to destroy, but rather extending one last chance for man to turn from his evil ways and escape the end torment of his rebellious heart.

GOD Will Hide His Face No More 
God brought destruction over the whole earth , destroying everyone and everything except Noah and all who were in the ark with him.  When Noah finally stepped out of the ark, God arched a rainbow in the sky and promised that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood.
There is a beautiful promise in Ezek. 39:29 that says... "And I will not hide My face from them anymore, for I shall have poured out My Spirit on (them) ..... "
We have the context of this verse in verse 23,  that explains that because of the iniquity of His people Israel,  He hid His face from them and allowed them to be utterly destroyed by their enemies - they all died by the sword.   Then God speaks of the coming New Covenant, that includes the Gentiles and He promises that He will never again hide His face for the purpose of totally destroying His people. 
So we know ...  we who live in the New Covenant, who have the Spirit of God poured out in us , do not have to fear that God will ever hide His face from us in wrath. 
God's heart is ever toward His children , and His desire is only that they live in close fellowship with Him.  

How wonderful our God is .. truly the perfect Father.   He is never afar off, but is intimately yearning to draw us ever closer into His presence. He invites  us to take refuge in Him , trusting in His character and His word .. knowing/believing that He will never leave us or forsake us - even if for a time He Hides His face so we will run after Him!   

I am a Samaritan Woman

I live in Samaria, am a Samaritan woman. .  I wish I could tell you I was a  loved and respected member of my village  but I can't.  My life has not been easy. 

I am standing in my doorway looking  to see how many people are out and about.  As I expected, not many.  Why?  It is noon, the hottest time of the day and people are staying inside trying to stay as cool and comfortable as possible.  

Which I would love to do as well ,   but my water jugs are empty.  I am thirsty and I need water for cooking and washing.   It is my time to go to the well to get my daily supply.

   

I go at noon for the simple reason that no one else does.   If I go in the cool of the day, like all the other women do .. and yes, getting water is definitely a woman's job -  then I have to face the scorn and mocking of the other women, and the whispers behind my back.  They know who I am ... they call me a 'loose woman' , immoral,  whose husbands can't be trusted around me.  But they don't understand, if they had lived my life, they might not be so quick to judge. 

Oh, I admit, I didn't make the best decisions in my life - but what else was I to do?  One thing led to another ... and I attracted the wrong kind of men who used me, abused me, rejected me and abandoned me.  Finally, I just determined to make  the best of what life allowed me. 

So ... I'm off  to the well alone in the heat of the day.  

 When the well comes into sight in the distance,  I see to my surprise that there is someone there. I have never seen another woman at the well at noon, this is very strange.   

 I come closer and , see that it isn't a woman at all but a man!  What is a man doing at the well?  Especially at this time of day.   Then as I come even closer, to my shock I recognize  that not only is it a man , but a JEW !   

Jews will take the long way round just to avoid walking through Sameria -- we are so hated by them -- and now a Jewish man  is sitting on our well?  

I hesitate some distance from the well, not sure what I should do.  Should I just ignore him and get my water?   A little hard to do considering he is sitting on the well's edge, I can hardly pretend not to see him.  

But  as I hesitate, he speaks to me !  Asks me to give him a drink .. 

, I look at him  and my immediate  thoughts tumble our of my mouth in a rush of questions .. "You are a man... and you speak to me, a woman??  And you are a Jew ...how is it you  speak to a Samaritan?? and you want ME to give YOU a drink?"   

I stand and look at him, not knowing how to take him.  What to think of him. 

 He is different from the men I usually associate with .. and not just because he is a Jew.   There is something that fascinates me, his eyes, his voice?   

There is nothing sexual in his demeanor .. I can't  put my finger on what is so very different about him. 

Responding to my questions he says "If you knew who I was you would ask ME for a drink and I would give you living water."   

Okay ,  now I am even more baffled...  This is a very strange conversation ... and not knowing how to respond I simply speak the obvious... "You have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep,  so where would you get this living water from? "  

 I begin to wonder if he is maybe  making himself a little more important than he should .. and I dare to chide him... "Are you greater than our father Jacob who dug this well and drank from it himself, and his sons and livestock?" 

He did not answer me directly but he says, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again but whoever drinks of the water I give him will never thirst again ... but it will bubble up into everlasting life!"

What strange words, I do not understand , yet something burns within me .. Who is this man?  Why are his words so strangely stirring? . A longing rises up within me and my words burst out of my mouth .. "Give me this water then, that I won't be thirsty and don't have to come here anymore to draw water!"   That would make my life so much easier !  

Again ,, he doesn't answer my request but he says .. "Go call your husband... " 

 My heart stands still ...  my husband?   ohhh ... suddenly I don't want to answer him; for some reason I want him to think well of me .. 

How should I answer ?   One thing I am known for is telling the truth -- but it isn't really so noble of me ... .. when you are at the bottom of society, there is nothing to gain by lying about anything - everyone is going to think the worst anyway .. so I just tell the truth -- it is simpler.   

But this man's question ... I must answer him so I admit ..  "i have no husband.. "  hoping he will leave it at that .. but no ...  he does not let me hide behind a partial answer. .  "You speak truth that you have no husband, but you have had 5 and the one you have now is not your husband."   

I am stunned ... How could he know ?   I have never seen him before, and since Jews do not associate with Samaritans it is impossible that he heard about me from someone else. 

  

I look into his face ... and suddenly, I know ...  "You, sir," , I say, "you are a  prophet."

and then he tells me about what true worship is and that it is going to change how and where we do now and will soon worship instead ... that true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth ... and God seeks those who worship him that way. . 

Now my reeling mind begins to put two and two together and  I wonder how great a man this truly is.  

 I don't want to offend him .. but I offer .....  "I know that when the Messiah comes He will tell us all things.. " 

To my great astonishment he answers me ... "I am He who speaks with you."

Time stands still around me, I am aware of nothing but the love I read in his face .... no man has ever looked at me like that... and never have I heard words like His. 

 

Then, at that exact  moment,  I am distracted by the sound of  footsteps and I see several men approach .. they are obviously coming to join the man at the will. ...  

What shall I do ?   Will these men be upset with me?  blame me for daring to speak to their friend or leader?   Me a woman, and a Samaritan speaking to a man ..  will I be in trouble? 

I look back at the man on the well ...  and see that He is looking at me with a gentle smile on His face.. Though he says not another word I suddenly  know what I need to do ... 

 

I forget my thirst, I forget my bucket .. I forget the burning sun ...I turn and run as fast as my legs will carry me  back into the village  ...  I approach the first group of men I see and breathlessly tell them that they need to come see a man that I met at the well.   I tell them that he might well be the Messiah, the Christ,  that has been expected for so long .. 

I am suddenly thankful that  I am known to tell the truth for I do not have to try to convince the men to believe me.  They are immediately interested and willingly follow me back to the well.  

Jesus,  as we now learn his name,  accepts our invitation -- actually we beg him- to come to our village.  We want to hear more of what He has to say.  He comes and stays for 2 days and what amazing two days they are !   

I will never be  the same again - our village will never be the same --  ... 

While I have  no idea of everything that will  yet happen, it is enough to know that I am free, forgiven and in love with Jesus ... 

You know what the neatest thing is?   Before when mothers would see me in the village they would point me out to their children and while I could not hear what the mothers whispered, I could easily guess ...and they would cross over to the other side of the street,  the children looking back  at me in horror from behind their mother's skirt.   But now ??   The mothers point me out to their children and tell them I am the woman who brought Jesus to the village!    You have no idea how that makes me feel ..  I can't stop smiling and I just want to hug everyone !!   

I never  guessed that a couple of thousand years later you would be reading my story ... I am so humbled ... but if my story can help you to know Jesus better, then I can't tell you how amazing that is !  and to Him be all the glory !!!  

*******************************

What can we take personally from this story ? 

When we study any scripture passage the most important thing to glean from it is  that which reveals God's character ... the more we know Him the more our faith will grow, and nothing pleases God as much as  His children learning to trust Him !!  

So what do we see about God's character in this story? 

He is no respecter of persons ... 

 We see expressed the truth of  Acts 10:34   that says God is no respecter of persons.  To God EVERY human being has equal value before Him.   That is a little hard to grasp in our world-standard thinking, isn't it ?    How can the worst murderer of children have as much value as Billy Graham?  Or the drug dealer or a pimp  have as much value as Fanny Crosby?

Yet of all the people Jesus could have reached out to, He choose the lowest of the low, a Samaritan,  a woman , and an immoral one.   The one most looked down on.  And we see no condescending attitude, no judgement, no criticism, only gentle love.  

So --  God's character --  He sees the 'value' in each person , He sees not who they are but who they were created to be !   AMAZING ...  He looks not to their past, but to their future.   

Therefore we know, that God will never turn away from us if we come to Him, no matter who we are or what we have done .. what a comfort - what a security.  

see .. Luke 18:13, Matt. 19:14,  Mark 2:16 

He does not allow cross-criticism 

When the disciples came back to find Jesus talking to a woman,  we are told what the disciples were thinking ... how they were judging the woman and the situation they walked into... yet Jesus, of course knowing their thoughts,  did not even address them.  Because God will not listen to people bringing accusations or criticism against another .. .God does not care what others think of you, the only thing that matters is what HE thinks of you ...  Just as when Martha brought accusation against her sister, Jesus did not receive it ...   Nor can the 'accuser of the brethren'   bring accusation against us .. He has been defeated at the cross and has no right to come before God any more !  

see ...   Rom. 14:4 , Rev. 12:10 

Laws,  society norms, man's judgments do not rule Him 

By all standards of moral and religious law, Jesus should have avoided the Samaritan woman, but He welcomed her into His presence.  

Religious rituals, sacrifices, fasting etc.  do not impress God, He will  do according to His perfect will and His will is always ruled by love. 

   He judges according to the heart and draws near to people in whom He sees a 'space'  waiting for Him to fill - those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth, not with ritual or religious works. 

see Psalm 51:17, Deut. 10:12, Amos 5:21-24, Hosea 6:6, James 1:27   

He is Safe 

It must have felt so strange to the Samaritan woman to speak to someone who did not judge her, even though He knew everything about her ! Jesus never condemned her, criticized her or made her feel that He looked down on her or considered her having no value. 

This is such an important insight into the heart of God ... 

Jesus said that the self-righteous don't need Him, but the sinners do and He compared Himself to a physician ... Why ?   

When you go to a physician because you are sick you do not hold back or pretend you are well.  You tell him all your symptoms -- that you have violent headaches, you are dizzy,  you have joint pain,  your stomach is upset and you are nauseous all the time.   And what does the doctor say?  Does he say , "That is absolutely terrible of you, go away and don't come back until you are feeling better !"    Of course not ..He will say .. "Okay, we'll run some tests , get to the bottom of what is troubling you and I can assure you I will help you get better !" 

While we don't expect condemnation from our doctor,  we tend to expect it from God when we try to  hide from Him our failings and shame. 

 

God will not invade our 'privacy' .. so He waits for us to be honest with Him -- then He reaches out for us and lovingly says... "Here, I can help you get better .. I have the cure!!"   No condemnation, only a loving willingness to help and to heal. 

Jesus was nothing but kind and loving to the Samaritan woman  because that is who He is, that is His character and so we can be assured He will be the same to us! 

What God Looks for 

In the story we see that what Jesus saw in the Samaritan woman was her honest heart , her quick response to trust  Him and her eagerness to tell others about Him.  

She wasn't perfect,  she wasn't qualified to meet any standard we would hold up,  yet God choose her for something that any one of us can offer Him... 

We don't have to be rich, or wise or strong -- or educated or hold a respected position in a career or ministry, in fact we need have ANY of the things the world would look for ...  no,  God looks for those who are simply willing to show Him their hearts, and be eager to worship Him in spirit and truth. 

Can we not all come to Him alongside the Samaritan woman?   Of course ...   and like her,  God can use us to make a difference in our world.  

I thought of how the Covid 19 is a picture of how we bring Jesus into a dark world ... we are 'infected' , then we touch someone close to us , and they become infected .. .and they reach out and touch those near them .. and then those go out and infect others ...  1 becomes 2, 2 become 4, 4 become 8, 8 become 16, 16 become 32, 32 become 64 ... and soon there is a spiritual PANDEMIC !!   May a tsunami of the Holy Spirit wash over us and may we be like the Samaritan woman to tell those around us how great God is !!   and infect others by how we 'live' - simply bringing to God an honest heart and sharing what He has given us ... It will be enough!! 

A HIDING PLACE

I found a set of these delightful wall ornaments some years ago and it was 'love at first sight'.  They were not expensive, but I think I would have bought them at any price. (almost!) 

I love the way animals find their 'cozy' places, where they can hide or have their young. 

We are all experiencing some degree of isolation because of the pandemic Covid 19 virus  we are trying to avoid.  We are 'hiding' in our homes where we feel comparatively safe. 

Isn't it instinctive to want to 'hide' ?  to be safe?  

We have a God-given need to hide from the  things that frighten us. We are uncomfortable if we feel exposed or vulnerable.  Why? It is a 'gift' from Him so we are motivated to seek our hiding places in Him. 

There are many scripture verses that speak to our need of a hiding place. 

One of my favorite verses is in Proverbs 18:10 which says , "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe."   Isn't that beautiful?  

What is the 'name of the Lord' ?  Names in the Bible are synonymous with character so what this verse is saying is the the character of Jesus/God is a very safe place.  Why ?  God's character cannot change - His promises are true yesterday, today and tomorrow !! 

 I love the mind imagery of a strong tower ... not  only is a tower strong (can't be easily knocked down)  but it is also 'high' -- out of reach of the dangers that prowl below. 

We might say ... 'okay, that's really nice, but what does that look like?" 

I found a beautiful verse that I think illustrates this for us. 

It is  found in Isaiah 32:2 and it says, 

"A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,

and a  cover from the tempest, 

As rivers of water in a dry place,

As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."  

"A man" -- who is this  'man'?  The answer is in verse one that speaks of the coming King of Righteous that will reign .... This can only be a prophetic pointing to Jesus ... and what will He be but a 'hiding' place for those who put their trust in Him   

Let's look at this verse closer ....  

"A hiding place from the wind"  -  a wind can be cold, it can be destructive, it can blow things away or blow things in ...  Events, circumstances 'blow' into our life, they can be so destructive... though we try to stand the wind is strong and threatens to blow us over...   We need to find a place where the wind cannot touch us ... where we can 'hide' from the destruction and evil intended against us.  Can we find such a hiding place in Jesus?  Yes, of course... He says.. " These thing I have spoken to you, that IN ME you may have peace. In the world  you will have trouble but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  John 16:33 ..

Jesus has overcome (worked for our good) every trouble that could blow our way ... IN HIM we are safe ... no matter what ! 

 "Cover from the tempest' --  The Hebrew word translated 'cover' is more than just a cover - it also means 'secret'  .. so a full meaning of this phrase  is that this is a 'secret' hiding place from the 'tempest'. 

Hebrews 13:6 "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear .. what can man do to me?"  In a 'secret' hiding place we are really safe - because the enemy cannot find us .  If our hiding place is not secret... then we still feel vulnerable because we know we are not safely 'hidden'.  

A tempest is a flood or a violent storm.  We all have times in our life where we feel we are overwhelmed, the waves are just too high - we know we will be swept away with the storm that has hit us.  But Jesus promises a 'secret' place where we can hide even from the most violent storms of life.   Why? How?  By simply keeping our eyes on Him and putting our hand in His... If we, like Peter, look only on the waves under our feet, we will sink ..   We need to stay IN JESUS, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that our hiding place in Him is 'secret' known only to Him and us. 

"Rivers of water in a dry place' -   Hunger is one thing, but thirst is another.  To be thirsty where there is no water is unbearable. And we know without water, our life will quickly be snuffed out. 

Yet, here is a hiding place when we find ourselves in a dry place where  there is no water in sight... we feel hopeless .. there are no answer, there is no relief !  Our throats are parched, our lips cracked. 

TAKE HEART! We have a hiding place beside rivers of water of life !   Does Jesus not say, "I am the water of life?"  (John 4:10, Rev. 22:17) 

  If you find ourselves in a dry place ... dip your cup in the river that flows crystal clear and drink all you want of the water of life.   

"A shadow of a great rock in a weary land" --  If you have ever found yourself somewhere where the hot sun is beating down on you, and you look for shade and find none, you know how it feels to long for a cool hiding place.  

 So also in life we have all found ourselves where the 'hot sun' of life has beat down on us for so long we are exhausted from the heat , long for relief, knowing we cannot go on for much longer ... but we look around and find no earthly answers that promise relief from our physical, mental or spiritual exhaustion.  

 Yet, we do have a hiding place .. Jesus, our Rock .. yes.. a GREAT Rock, provides the 'shade' we need .. .We can sit in His shadow, comforted by the relief that welcome shade provides.   The sun is still as hot as it ever was, but sitting in the 'shade' we do not suffer the heat.  We are in a secret hiding place, we will not be disturbed.  

 "Therefore thus says the Lord,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.He who believes in it will not be disturbed."  Isaiah 28:16

Do you need a hiding place?  It is waiting for you ..